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08/18/2004
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| Monmouth's Dwayne Byfield | |
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INCA, SPAIN - Monmouth University´s men´s basketball squad lost a 97-79 decision at Basquet Inca on the island of Mallorca in game four of its five game tour of Spain.
The home team enjoyed a healthy advantage at the foul line where it hit on 36-of-46, including 25-of-30 in the first half when the Blue and White was whistled for 23 fouls, to just eight for the home squad.
In the first quarter, the Hawks pounced on Inca early, hitting 6-of-7 from the field to stake claim to a 14-3 lead. The run was keyed by a 3-point field goal and a layup by Tyler Azzarelli. Monmouth later built the lead to 14 points on a 3-point field goal by Dejan Delic with 3:49 remaining in the first period. Monmouth coasted into the first intermission with a 25-12 lead.
Inca benefited from home cooking in the second quarter as the referees whistled Monmouth for four fouls in the first 50 seconds to put the Spaniards in the bonus. Inca took their first lead of at 30-28 as they went 9-of-9 from the foul line during an 18-5 run. The Hawks tied the score at 33-33 at the 4:07 mark, but Inca hit 7-of-9 from the charitz stripe down the stretch and with Marques Alston and Corey Hallett in foul trouble and Brent Stephens fouled out, the Spaniards took a 45-33 lead into the halftime.
"It was a tough game for me to coach," Monmouth head coach Dave Calloway said. "And I´m sure it was a hard game four our guys to play. I´m proud of them though because they played harder today than they have all trip. I know I was frustrated."
The Hawks whittled the lead to nine points on two occasions in the third quarter, but the tally at the end of the period was 73-51 in favor of the Spaniards. Monmouth went on a 13-4 run to begin the third quarter, cutting the lead to 77-64. The Blue and White would trim the lead to 12 on two occasions, including 91-79 with 46 seconds remaining, before Inca´s starters scored three straight baskets on Monmouth´s reserves in the waning moments of the game.
Dwayne Byfield led the Hawks with 18 points and five assists as he hit 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Chris Kenny added 16 points, going 6-of-10 from the floor. For the third consecutive game, Delic came off the bench to log double-digits in the scoring column with 13 points. Hallett added 12 points and eight rebounds.
"It was good to have Dwayne (Byfield) and Chris (Kenny) hitting shots tonight," Calloway said. "We ran our offense pretty well tonight, especially in the second half."
Stefano Rodriguez led Inca with 27 points and five assists. Sam Johnson added 23 points and seven rebounds and Eduardo Moraga logged 17 points and eight rebounds.
The Hawks complete action on their tour of Spain on Friday as Monmouth travels to La Coruna for a 2:30 p.m. contest vs. Celso Minguez.
